We were delighted to have the opportunity to present our initial findings on the tracing floor processes of the 14th century vaults at Ely cathedral as part of the Cambridge Antiquarian Society’s day investigating the Architecture and Archaeology of Ely, in memory of Anne Holton-Krayenbuh. We discussed our work to date on the medieval vault designs of Bishop Hotham’s choir vaults, both in the main vessel as well as the north aisle, and the particular research problems we’ve faced compared to other sites of investigation given that we appear to have uneven impost levels across vault bays.
It was excellent to hear from the other speakers at the event, starting with Dr Catherine Hills discussing the clothing and jewellery discovered at local burial sites during the time of Etheldreda. Next, Ely cathedral archaeologist Dr Roland Harris presenting an overview of the Romanesque parts of the cathedral, and we are keen to share our survey data with Roland to assist in future building work. Rebecca Lane from Historic England then presented findings based on surveys of Ely’s early urban buildings, which surprisingly included a tierceron vault in the cellar of one of the high street shops. Dr John Maddison gave an excellent talk on Bishop Hotham’s tomb in the cathedral, and the possible solution of it now being two separate pieces. Elizabeth Stazicker, the cathedral archivist, then concluded with a talk highlighting a few of the fascinating artefacts in her custody, as well as reminiscing on her time with Anne Holton-Krayenbuh.
It was an insightful and stimulating day, and we were very grateful for the opportunity to be part of it. We look forward to future events organised by the Cambridge Antiquarian Society, where we can hopefully return in future once our research progresses.
The Architecture and Archaeology of Ely: Papers in memory of Anne Holton-Krayenbuh was held at The Maltings in Ely on 10th March 2018.
